From Zombos Closet

Granny Creech’s Radio Spot Crypt

Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Radio Spots

Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1978 behind the scenes photo
Donald Sutherland is beside himself in Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1978

Welcome, all lovers of remakes (are there any?)! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.

Remakes! Sequels! Is there anything new?

I hear and read it all the time: People are sick of going to the movies and seeing the same things over and over again, or hearing about a new reworking of an old standard. Is there not anything new coming out of Hollywood? Is all new creativity lost? Is it all about finances and the belief that redoing a former blockbuster hit will once again generate the same amount of revenue?

Successful remakes are hard to find. Usually remakes are made of older movies with the idea of modernizing them to appeal to a fresh audience. Some are redone to highlight improved technology. Some work, some don’t. The ones that work have one thing in common: they are remade by fans of the original and want to do it in homage.
With all that said, two remakes stand out to me and definitely work: John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), and 1978’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It is this latter movie I want to feature today.

The first version, filmed in 1955 and released in 1956, was well received and has achieved classic status. Its black and white photography gave it a Film Noir look which helped with the sense of paranoia and fear. It is played with all seriousness and the danger builds quickly as more and more residents of the small town of Santa Mira report that their closest family members are somehow different – changed with no emotions. Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter play the hapless couple who slowly sees their circle of friends and the townspeople they love change to become alien visitors who want to capture them and turn them into “pod people.”

Since it was so successful, filmmaker fans in the late 1970s decided to re-envision it, setting it in a large city – San Francisco – and producing it in color. Reviewers liked it and gave credit for its new approach. However, it lost its small town charm and tragedy with events now taking place within a city of countless, nameless individuals being taken over in large numbers. Close friends are changed, so the lack of trust and paranoia are still present, only the threat now exists on a much larger scale. The practical special effects are more advanced than the original, and the sound of the hatching pods is much more organic and alien. The newer version goes into more depth about the origin of the space seeds and the assimilation process, and, to its credit, fixes the original’s flaw in the lover’s reveal at the end. They are two different-looking movies and I enjoy both of them. In fact, they complement each other.

Which do you prefer?

Here are six spots for the 1978 release…three mono spots and three spots in stereo. The stereo spots are basically the same with minor differences, but the mixing is a little sharper and the background effects are more pronounced. Spots for the 1956 version are harder to find than an unopened seed pod. Granny Creech and I are both looking. Maybe someday…

Space seeds! Pods! Pod people! Don’t go to sleep! No emotions! Leonard Nimoy! Invasion of the Body Snatchers!

If you have radio spots you would like to share or talk about with Gary (the Radio Spots Guy), you can reach him at [email protected].

ZC Update: Zombos’ pod-person has been found and destroyed after Gary noticed that he mistakenly said Elliot Gould instead of Donald Sutherland in the photo caption. 

 

Fearless, Lust, Twins
and a Circus
Oh, My!
Radio Spots

Welcome, all lovers of things that go bump in the night! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary. To follow up on my post, Dracula, Yorga, and Frankenstein Oh, My!, here are more vampires than you can shake a stake at.

Lust for a Vampire movie scene
Barbara Jefford and Mike Raven in Lust for a Vampire

Twins of Evil

Vampire Circus and Countess Dracula

Lust for a Vampire

The Fearless Vampire Killers

The Vampire Lovers

The Velvet Vampire and Scream of the Demon Lover

 

Vampire Circus Lobby Card

Halloween 1,2,3 Radio Spots
To Light Your Pumpkin

Halloween 3, Season of the Witch publicity still showing three masked trick or treaters

Welcome, all lovers of things that go bump in the night! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.

Listen…it’s that time of year again for crunching leaves, cool, howling winds, and the sound of spooks and monsters of all kinds.

Take a deep breath: Do you smell it? That unmistakable smell of burning pumpkin, caused by the candle flame licking the base of carved-out lids of eerily illuminated jack-o-lanterns sitting ominously on the porches of households eagerly awaiting the arrival of dozens of ghastly apparitions demanding treats of various kinds.
Can you taste it? The sweet taste of hauntingly delicious goodies, from chocolate to peppermint, and everything in between.

Can you feel it? The apprehension of not knowing what is coming to visit your house. Who or what is behind that mask you see staring into your eyes, into your soul? Is it friend…or foe?

Fear! Terror! Horror! Trick or Treat! Tricks with no treat! Nowhere to run! The night ‘he’ came home! The night no one came home! Halloween….One, Two and Three!!!

Halloween

Halloween II

Halloween III: Season of the Witch

 

Actor Nick Castle holding up Michael Myers mask
Nick Castle holding up his inner monster, Michael Myers

If you have radio spots you would like to share or talk about with Gary (the Radio Spots Guy), you can reach him at [email protected].

Dracula, Yorga, and Frankenstein, Oh My!
Radio Spots

Dracula Versus Frankenstein 1971 movie

Welcome, all lovers of vampires and monsters! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I guess it comes as no surprise that the makers of horror movies would capitalize on the tried and true names of horror to seek box office success.

As I was clearing out some of my radio spot files I saw that the vampire and monster-making genres still had some energy left after the great Hammer films had run their courses. Feature vampire lovelies and gruesomely-made monsters and the audiences were sure to come, right? Evidently.

Count Yorga vampire movie headshot

I have come up with eighteen titles of screen shockers that took the Dracula and Frankenstein legends to new directions, many with increasing doses of gore and female nudity. As the 1970s unfolded, the screen became more exploitative. Many of these films lacked quality, but some were adequate. Liberties were taken with the original canon legends, and stories were created to make use of the screen’s new-found freedoms.

So, here are the spots. Most are quite good…some are overly screamed. See how many of these bring back memories…and nightmares.

Blood! Fangs! Crosses! Corpses! Beautiful, and sometimes nude, women in peril! Cadavers! Body parts! Mad labs! Monsters! Dracula and Frankenstein movies continue!

Count Dracula and His Bride

Count Yorga Vampire

Dracula (Frank Langella)

Dracula vs. Frankenstein

Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror

Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks

Guess What Happened to Count Dracula

Lady Frankenstein

The Return of Count Yorga

 

Frankenstein's Bloody Terror lobby card

Frankenstein, Dracula, Mummy
and Captain Kronos Radio Spots
To Make You Scream

Frankenstein Created Woman movie scene

Welcome, all lovers of double features! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.

Well, I was rummaging through my files when I saw that my radio spot tribute to Hammer vampire movies was incomplete: I found two more. And, they were part of some Hammer Films double features which included a mummy sequel and three Frankenstein films! So, I thought I would introduce the Frankenstein and Mummy sagas here also. Confusing? Well, let me explain…

Last time I featured two Dracula movies which headlined two double features, one containing zombies and the other an occult adventure. This time the two vampire movies take the backseat to two Frankenstein movies and the third double feature has a mummy movie taking the backseat to a Frankenstein film! Whew! It’s not as complicated as it sounds.

First off, we journey to 1967 for Frankenstein Created Woman, a play on And God Created Woman from 1956, and The Mummy’s Shroud, third in Hammer’s Mummy series. Peter Cushing returns as Baron Frankenstein but Christopher Lee is absent from the former.

Second, from 1970, we have Horror of Frankenstein and Scars of Dracula, with Ralph Bates in the first and Christopher Lee in the second.

Lastly, from 1974, there’s Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell paired with Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter. Peter Cushing again reprises his role as the good doctor in this, the final chapter of the Frankenstein saga, and Horst Janson stars as Captain Kronos, chasing vampires who drain the youth instead of blood from their victims.

Sadly, none of these double feature radio spots highlight any theater handouts.

The movies were winding down and the radio spots tried to capture the old glamour, but time and movie culture were taking their tolls. They are still fun, though, especially as two spots for the Horror/Scars double feature hold on to the puns from an earlier marketing angle.  But it’s sad to think these spots were at the end of such glorious Hammer traditions.

Murders! Corpses! Body parts! Vampires! Bats! Good vs Evil! Tombs! Bandages! Ancient curses! More gorgeous women in peril! Three Hammer double features!
Bonus! I just found two spots each for the single releases of Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell and Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter. Enjoy!

Horror of Frankenstein and Scars of Dracula

Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter

Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell and Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter

Frankenstein Created Woman and The Mummy’s Shroud

Hammer Dracula Radio Spots

Dracula AD 1972 publicity photo with Lee and women around a coffin

Welcome, all lovers of the movies that drain you! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.

Many thanks go out to my friend, the ever-vivacious Granny Creech, for filling in for me and doing the spots for Dracula Has Risen From the Grave. I was busy elsewhere and just couldn’t fit it in to meet Ol’ Zombos’ schedule. He’s a real stickler about things like that, and I knew I’d be in big trouble with the old guy if I were late, so Granny saved my skin, what little there is left of it.

Anyway, in keeping with my original plan, here are spots for two more Hammer vampire treasures, Dracula: Prince of Darkness and Dracula A.D. 1972. …

Closet Encounters of the Radio Spots Kind

Close Encounters for the Third Kind movie scene showing bottom of alien ship in mountain receiving area.

Welcome, all lovers of the mysterious and other-worldly! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.

In late 1977 a movie opened which captured the imaginations of all those who believe in UFOs and extraterrestrial life. The sci-fi magazines of the time immediately began to compare it to Star Wars but, in all fairness, it was a movie of a totally different kind. This movie, set on Earth, appealed more to the mind…offering many puzzling events which led to an astonishing conclusion. Visually it was satisfying and the effects were great, especially the mind-blowing finale. It remains a classic but didn’t lead to any spin-offs or sequels, aside from a director’s cut or two. So, keep watching the skies…they are watching us.

Mysterious lights in the sky! Strange happenings! Strange visions! The Devil’s Tower! Losing your mind! Government cover-up! The Mother ship! D-E-C-C-G! Contact! Close Encounters of the Third Kind!

Close Encounters for the Third Kind movie scene showing mom reunited with son.

Dracula Has Risen
From the Grave
Radio Spots

Dracula Has Risen From the Grave bandaid poster

 

Hello, My Children!

Whew, is it hot! It is hotter than an overcooked vat of my Witch’s Brew!

I was just sitting here in my parlor when I received a phone call from the Radio Reaper. He was all in a tizzy:

“Granny,” he said, breathlessly, “have you seen Zombos’ recent posting?  It is the pressbook for Dracula Has Risen From The Grave. I have some radio spots for it but I’m too busy to fix them up and send them to him. Can You do it?”

“Sure, Reaper,” I said. “I will be glad to. Send me the files and I’ll get right on it.”

He did and I did, and I must admit they were right up my alley. I wasn’t too familiar with the movie or the spots, but after hearing them, I was glad I got to write something about them.

They are not the usual radio spots I am used to hearing! If you have never heard them you are in for quite a treat. They are full of puns and I LOLed through most of them (that’s text jargon for those of you who do not know). I called up my grandson Big Abner and let him hear them and he LOLed, too.

Hee hee.

These spots are quite unlike anything I would have thought the Warner Bros./Seven Arts marketers for Hammer’s vampire movie would have resorted to so I had to look it up on Wikipedia to see if it was a spoof or a tongue-in-cheek feature. But, no, it was played in all seriousness…even rated “G”, which is surprising in itself. However, the one-sheet poster should have been a dead giveaway for the advertising tone. I didn’t read anything about what Hammer Films thought of the American campaign so I guess all was well, since it became Hammer’s most profitable movie (according to IMDb).

Reader reviews on the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDb) mostly agree that it is one of the best in the Hammer series. I haven’t seen it so I can’t attest to that fact or add my opinion. It is the fourth of the series and was made in 1968.

So, here are the spots, courtesy of the Radio Reaper’s Reliquary. We hope you enjoy them and get a laugh or two from them. If nothing else, they have quite a bite….sorry….
Now, on with the pun-ishment!!

If you have radio spots you would like to share with Granny or just want to exchange spells, you can reach her at [email protected].

Star Wars (1977) Radio Spots

Star Wars a New Hope, award scene

Welcome, all lovers of outer space adventures! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.

It was late May of 1977 when a relatively unknown movie opened in theaters and set off a chain reaction never before seen…a reaction that is still going strong almost fifty years later. Through sequels, comic books, books, cartoon series, and countless streaming spin-offs, the adventure continues to this day. Never has a handful of characters been so totally embraced by the cultures of the world as have these brave and gallant heroes battling seemingly overwhelming odds. Visually magnificent with groundbreaking visual effects, this motion picture set the standard for space operas to follow.

Radio-wise, the marketing campaign for this film never let up. The first five radio spots released were from May, 1977 and the next three were from mid-summer. The next fifteen story spots done in serial form were from its re-release in July, 1978 (shoot, at some theaters it was still playing as late as December, 1977!), and the last ten were from its re-release in 1979…”It’s Back!”

So, listen to the radio spots from the movie that started it all…a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. The Force! Droids! Aliens! Heroes and a Princess! Jedis! Light Sabers! Star Destroyers! The Death Star! Star Wars!

 

 

Re-release in July, 1978

 

Re-release in 1979

Jaws (1975)
The Review Radio Spots

Jaws movie reviewer radio spots
Remember when professional critics’ reviews actually had a yay or nay power over movies? Here are radio spots highlighting the glowing reviews for Jaws, courtesy of Granny Creech and Radio Reaper.

Spielberg’s first big hit contained elements he repeated in many of his movies. A night sea hunt for the shark provides an early example of his favorite visual hallmark, a beam of light made visible by fog. He would continue to devote close attention to characters, instead of hurrying past them to the special effects, as so many 1990s f/x directors did. In “Jaws” and subsequently, he prefers mood to emotional bludgeoning, and one of the remarkable things about the picture is its relatively muted tone. The familiar musical theme by John Williams is not a shrieker, but low and insinuating. It’s often heard during point-of-view shots, at water level and below, that are another way Spielberg suggests the shark without showing it. The cinematography, by Bill Butler, is at pains to tell the story in the midst of middle-class America; if Spielberg’s favorite location would become the suburbs, “Jaws” shows suburbanites on vacation. (Roger Ebert,

Brides of Dracula
and Kiss of the Vampire
Radio Spots

Brides of Dracula publicity still
Lovely Yvonne Monlaur in the grasp of Baron Meinster, portrayed by David Peel.

I received a call from my ornery grandson, Big Abner, the other day, and I could tell right off he was up to something.

“Granny,” he said, “I just watched two movies and they really sucked!”

My mind raced, going over all the low-budget, Z-movies I could think of.

“Which ones?” I asked, taking the bait.

Brides of Dracula and Kiss of the Vampire!” he said with a big laugh. “Get it? Do you get it?”

“Yes, Abner, I get it, you big goof. Was there anything about them you liked?”

“Yep, two things,” he responded. “Beautiful women and beautiful vampire women.”

I sighed and told him to get back to work.

After he hung up I began to think about what he said, and there was some truth to it. Hammer Films ushered in a new retelling of the old Universal classics with The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957) and Horror of Dracula (1958), both color productions that featured lots of blood and graphic stake-driving scenes not pictured in the old versions. And each was complete with ghastly monsters and…beautiful women, often in bosom-baring low-cut dresses as befitted the time period in which the movie was set. They were hits and Hammer Studios began a series of movies on the Frankenstein and Dracula legends. …

Jaws 3-D Radio Spots
(For Your 3-D Ears)

Jaws 3-D, water skiers being followed by shark

Gary Fox and the Radio Reaper just can’t stay out of the water…

Since 2-D wasn’t enough to bring the terror close, Jaws 3-D made those shark chompers sharper for popcorn-loving audiences. Or, at least, that was the intention. Released in July of 1983, This “third dimension is terror” outing pumped up a soggy script with gory optics. Being a Jaws nut no matter what, I did watch this, with friends, in the theater. The 3-D glasses gave me a headache but I persevered. Besides, I loved Louis Gosset Jr. as much as Lea Thompson (I know, right!) and with a team of female water skiers, the Sea World park  backdrop, and Brody’s son all growed-up to face a mother shark and her baby–with help from “plucky” dolphins, what’s not to love? Well…although they hired Richard Matheson (yeah, that guy) to turn in a top-notch script, some bright bulbs decided to revise it to his dislike. Of course, audiences (including me) ate it up anyway as much as the sharks ate up the people. To get the lowdown on Jaws 3-D, read Just When You Thought It Was Safe: A Jaws Companion by Patrick Jankiewicz. One tidbit I gleaned from the book: Because of the 3-D process, the original hope was to use it for a Creature From the Black Lagoon sequel, headed by director John Landis. Sid Sheinberg, head of MCA, saw the test and opted to do Jaws 3-D instead. Ouch.

The radio spots provided by Gary and Radio Reaper include the Advance Promo and Preview Trailer.

 

Jaws 3-D park visitors running out of time as water and air get worse